In an effort to reduce the risk of transmitting infectious diseases, such as hepatitis and AIDS, via accidental needle sticks, various designs of IV injection sites have been developed that are adapted to receive a blunt cannula and/or shielded cannula. See, e.g., Special Report and Product Review, Needlestick-Prevention Devices, Health Devices, pages 154-180 (ECRI, Plymouth Meeting, Pa. 1991). One approach has been to employ a slit septum Y-site in which a slit elastomeric septum is compressed in the Y-site housing. A blunt cannula can be introduced through the slit of the septum, and assuming the design works as intended, the septum will seal against the cannula shaft. When the cannula is removed, the septum seals itself.
Injection sites of this type are either available from or publicized by Baxter International, Inc., Deerfield, Ill., under the trade designation "Baxter's Needle-Less Injection Sites"; Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Abbott Park, Ill., under the trade designation "Safe-Line No-Needle I.V. System". A blunt cannula has been available from Becton, Dickinson and Company, Paramus, N.J., under the trade designation "Interlink System".
In many of these systems the slitting of the septum is critical to their proper functioning. The slitting of the septum often requires precise accuracy in the location and dimensions of the slit. Moreover, custom-made tools, secondary operations and subsequent testing are often required to form acceptable leak-resistant slits.
In at least some of these injection sites having slit septums, the manufacturer instructs the user that sharp needles, if used, should be inserted through the septum near its perimeter to avoid creating a leak through the slitted portion of the septum. This practice contradicts the training of health care personnel who are taught to insert needles through the centers of septums to help prevent inadvertent needlestick injuries with their attendant complications.